Infant May Have Been Shaken, Autopsy Finds

November 07, 2000

SOUTH SIDE — An autopsy determined Monday that a 3-month-old girl's death was a homicide and she died from a head injury consistent with shaken baby syndrome, said Edmund Donoghue, chief medical examiner for Cook County.

The girl, who lived in the 2300 block of East 70th Street, died Sunday at the University of Chicago Children's Hospital. No charges had been filed as of Monday evening, police said.

Police began investigating last week after a hospital doctor told them there was a possibility the girl had been shaken.

About 7:20 a.m. Thursday, the girl's parents left her with a baby-sitter who lives in the same building, police said. After the father picked her up around 3:45 p.m., the infant was unresponsive and sleepy, police said. About 8 p.m. the parents took her to La Rabida Children's Hospital. She was transferred to the U. of C. hospital.

The Illinois Department of Children and Family Services was investigating. Andy Martinez, a spokesman, said the department had no previous contact with the family or baby-sitter.